Week 43 in the field!

Hello my friends!

I’ve learned a lot of new things this week, including that being a Zone Leader is (exhaustingly) fun!

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: One has to lead from the front of the pack.

Our bishop in Peten Ward, Bishop Mario, is SUPER. (Super Mario.... hehe). It’s no suprise to me that his ward achieves incredible things. Every other Sunday, he sets apart his ENTIRE evening and brings the ENTIRE bishopric to visit member and investigator families with the missionaries. The members of the ward, consequently, are excited to help out with the missionary work and give us lots of referrals!

It makes sense that the Savior led in the same way. Was his frequently-repeated line not, "Come, follow me"? If we want to lead well, we can’t be pushers - we have to be pullers.

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• E. Tellez is super friendly and helpful!! He does me favors before I even think to ask him! He’s an example to me of service and humility - it would do me well to be more like him.
• We traveled to Cancun for the Leadership Council of September. Good news! Playa is set to be the highest-baptizing zone in the mission! Not for what E. Tellez and I have done, of course (having just arrived), but it was definitely a boost of enthusiasm!!
• We had an INCREDIBLE stake activity to celebrate Mexican Independence Day (VIVA MÉXICO, WOOOO!!) There was a stage, cool lights, a beefy sound system, and a TON of investigators!!!! I didn’t even think to take pictures because I was too busy contacting everyone. 
• Exchanges with one of our three district leaders, E. Escorcia. The Lord blessed us to find SIX new families to teach in one day. Honestly one of the coolest days ever.
• We had a great lesson with Erik and Alex, two young adults who are investigating the church. They want to be marine biologists, so we told them about how the young single adults in the ward are doing Scuba classes! They got super excited and agreed to all the committments we extended!! XD

There are lots more stories from this week, but I’ll save them for when we see each other face to face. Remember that everyone is meant to be a leader, and we should strive to do so in the Savior’s way. I promise each of you that as you give it your 110% effort, you’ll find that the Lord shows you who you really are and what you can become.

Love,

Elder Carson

PS - Lots of love for yall in the States, but I can’t claim loyalty or they’ll hunt me down for being a Trump-supporter! XD VIVA MÉXICO!

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The latest on the tie collection - the majority are new, from companions and friends in the mission. :) The love evolves, people.

Goodbye Garcia family!!

Goodbye, Mission-Leader Oscar!!

Goodbye Bishop Herrera!!!

Hello Elder Tellez!! Mi chan compita.

Week 42 in the field!!!!

Good day!

I must say, I never thought I would arrive at the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but here I am: week 42 in the field.  

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Specific prayers WORK, yo! This week I had a really intense personal study and was feelin the faith juice, so I ended with a specific prayer. I asked God to help me find a family of FIVE people at 5:00pm who would come to accept the gospel in their lives. To recognize them, I would look for a mom dressed in RED with THREE little kids walking home from school by her side. The father wouldn’t be there in the street with them, but he and the mother would be legally married.

At 5:00pm ON THE DOT, I scanned the road around us and spotted the family I was looking for. They were a ways off, so I had to drag my (confused) companions half-running on a detour to reach the mother with her three kids. The mother had red jeans on, and the little ones had on their backpacks from school. We gave them the run-down, and they were very friendly. The mom commented that her husband was waiting for them at home. They got married in Guatemala. We gifted them a pamphlet and tried to set a return date, but the mom explained that, because of work, they’re almost never at home.

It didn’t matter to me, really. I KNOW they will come to know the Gospel in the Lord’s due time, and His time is perfect.

LECCIÓN DOS: When saying specific prayers to find investigators, the wise elder will think to specify that the investigators accept a visit.

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• ALEJANDRO GOT THE BAPTISMAL DUNK! It was a combined service with the sister-missionaries of Chetumal, and it went very well. Alejandro was a little nervous beforehand, but after the ordinance, he was beaming.
• I went on splits with Hno. Cortéz to cover appointments somewhat far away from the house. We arrived comfortably in his car and set a baptismal date for a young pregnant girl named Marla who’s finalizing her plans to get married. At age 15. Wow.
• Our district leaders bought us pizza because we reached our goal for baptisms this transfer! That’s good leadership.
• I got a free haircut and.... well, the dude almost cut my head off with the little razor. You get what you pay for, I suppose.
• WE GOT THE TRANSFER NEWS! I’m going to Playa del Carmen as a Zone Leader! The area is called Puerto Aventuras - "Adventure Port". I’m certain that plenty of adventures await me there and that they’ll be good ones.
• We bought a tub of Oreo ice-cream between the three of us. Worth every peso.

That’s it for now. This was a short week. As always, the first week of the transfer will be WITHOUT PDay, so I’ll be writing you all in nine days! It’ll be a good-un with an extra 48-hours of adventure.

Keep the idea of specific prayers in mind. Prayer is like a harmonica - it seems a little useless until you dedicate the time and effort into learning how to use it. LEARN HOW TO PRAY, YALL, and it’ll be the greatest source of blessings in your day-to-day life.

Love,

Elder Carson

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Squad selfie while packing up the house. All three of us are getting transferred!! (PS - Military hair-cut feels good in the heat).

Combined baptisms, combined POWER!

The little one just after being spiritually cleansed.

The Chan-Distrito. We´re a happy family.

Week 41 in the field!!!!!

My dear friends and aquaintences (spelling?) 

As you have likely noticed, I’m forgetting English. It’s a fact. But I’ll be sure to serenade you all in South/Central America’s love-language when I get back!

LECCIÒN DE LA SEMANA: The Lord gives more to good stewards!!!!

This week, I was testing a theory: to find success, you’ve got to prove your stuff. Often, the Spirit prompts me to talk to people in the street who aren’t at all interested in our message. Does that mean it wasn’t the Spirit?

NO!

Why? Two reasons: (1) We’re planting a seedling in that person, and (2) the Lord’s preparing us for the guy across the street. The second guy you talk to is going to be MORE AWESOME than the first. And the third more than the second, as long as we take courage each time the Spirit prompts us.

On exchanges with Elder Vera, I was following a "chain" of people in this manner when a taxi suddenly stopped on the side of the road. I went to talk to the guy, and said, "hello, good sir, what’s your name?"

"What do I look like?" he asked, making me guess.

I thought he was joking, so in the same tone, I said, "your name is Jorge, and you want to hear about the Gospel, right?"

The dude looked surprised and let us into the taxi. He introduced himself as Jorge Campos (yes!), and proceeded to tell us that he’s having family troubles and has been looking for a church. He also told us that his son is Mormon, and that it seems like a good option to him.

The Spirit will never misguide you. Trust Him, and you’ll find the success you’re looking for.

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• NEXT PDAY WILL BE ON SATURDAY, QUERIDOS :) 
• Celebrated E. Tello’s birthday in Burger King. He’s addicted to the chocolate milkshakes.
• We had a FANTASTIC Family Home Evening with Dr. Toledo, our new Elders Quorum President, and he treated us to an american classic of burgers and fries afterwards. A noble man, surely. We committed his inactive son to go to church.
• OSVALDO GOT BAPTIZED! And the program was LEGIT. The primary president pitched in and made a program where the KIDS gave talks/did the music/prayers/EVERYTHING. Honestly one of the best things I’ve seen. I think the ward mission plan we pitched has helped a lot - the ward leaders are super excited to help us now :D
• On Saturday, we started a special fast with the whole zone to help us achieve our goals. It was great to see a new sense of unity on the face of each missionary. Fantastic idea from E. Mun.
• We visited the ruins of Ox-Tan-Kah today!! What an incredible experience! Honestly, these are some of the smaller ruins in this mission, but I was blown away by the mystical ambience that was felt on the grounds. Like walking through the remains of a fairy-tale.
• THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE MAKING OF THE PACKAGE I GOT. EVERYTHING WAS WELL-APPRECIATED BY ME AND MY COMPANIONS. :D

Loves to you all! Until Saturday! Follow the Spirit and be really happy!

Elder Carson

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OSVALDO THE CHAMP! He gave a great testimony at the end of the service about the Gospel and the temperature of the water.

A spanish chapel (built many years after all the other structures in OxTanKah).

Our dear friend Hno. Cortèz (the optimistic guy I told you about)

Elder TombRaider

"ARREPENTIOS, OH VOSOTROS, EXTREMOS DE LA TIERRA"

Toledo family - excellent in ALL aspects, but the big man`s got a firm hand for injections. (PS they don`t inject you in the arm here).

Week 40 in the field!!!

WOW! That’s 40, everybody. It’s weird living in a time-machine.

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Baby-feeding is toxic in positions of leadership.

When I arrived to this ward, I noticed a lot of negative feelings that the members had towards their church leadership. They complained that the bishop didn’t do ANYTHING! I even began to believe some of the rumors because they were so prevalent.

This week, I got a little insight into the bishop’s perspective, and it’s actually brilliant. He doesn’t want to do what the auxiliary leaders can do because they need the experience to become more independent.

We held a Talent Show this week, and I was able to see how well the bishop’s theory worked. He deliberately stepped out of the picture, and when the members began to notice the problems ("nobody set up chairs!", "we need a speaker to play music!", etc) THEY began to take initiative and fill in the gaps.

The show was a little rusty, but I count it as a SUCCESS, because I’m absolutely sure that the members learned a valuable lesson from the experience. There’s no doubt in my mind that the next activity will be much slicker, and that these leaders will be more prepared to take part in the work.

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• We had a great Family Home Evening where we played a Plan of Salvation board game! I have some pretty creative companions!!
• Our Zone Conference went well. My companions and I thought of a series of practices that we did with all the missionaries. President was impressed by the presentation we gave, so I count it as a win. :D
• I gave Alejandro, our young investigator, homework - he was supposed to read the first chapter of first Nephi (but only the "small" verses because the big ones scare him). When we arrived, he had conquered the fear and read ALL of first Nephi!!! What a stud!!
• We gave a training to all of the Primary Presidencies of the stake. It was a lot of fun. We tried to incorporate dynamic experiences so that the Presidents and their counselors would catch the "mission-fever" and get excited about the work. With that training, they’re going to do an activity with the kids, teaching them how to be missionaries and giving them the chance to share their knowledge and testimony with REAL investigators!!!
• We did a service project for one one mother that was one the verge of giving her son permission to get baptized. We cleaned her yard and moved a giant cement water-tank into a hole in the ground. At the end of it all, she gave us empanadas (mega-yum) and signed the paperwork, giving her approval!

Thanks for tuning in, friends! I hope you all have a wonderful week. I want to let you all know that I know this Gospel is true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church upon the earth, and it is only through her founder, Jesus Christ himself, that we can come to live with God and our families in the next life. May we all be valiant in the faith.

Hugs,

Elder Carson

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COOL TOYS :D

COOL TOYS :D

Our zone! (Serious edition)

Our zone! (too-real edition).

We go forth in pairs, combatting evil with light and an invisible force. Would it be too much to say that we´re Jedi?? (I stole the sword from the last sith I slayed).

Sun-burnt but happy!

Week 39 in the field!!

What a wonderful, stormy day!

We’re entering September now, and that’s rainy season on this side of the Yucatan peninsula. Things are great, actually - I enjoy the chance to (literally) cool down.

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: There’s no time in this life for negativity!!

I went on splits with an old dude (Hno. Cortéz) on the high council assigned to missionary work in Bacalar. It was a LOT of fun, and I think it was because the guy didn’t speak ONE WORD of negativity the whole time. Personally, I didn’t even realize how optimistic a person can be until that moment.

Lots of people his age don’t leave the house or spend all day sleeping, but because of his attitude, he’s been able to fill his time with productive things. He’s taking cooking classes, getting licensed to open a barber shop, and always putting God (and his calling) first!

I don’t know about you guys, but I would would like to be so happy when I get old. :D

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• We did LOTS of splits with the elders of Chetumal this week! On one of my favorites, we caught the (rebellious) son of a desperate mother in JUST the right moment to start teaching him, and the message of the Atonement really struck him. THE (big, tough, tattoed) DUDE CRIED. It was a very spiritual moment. Cool stuff.
• Some baptismal dates fell through in our area and in the zone - we’re working on a training for the zone about how to retain those investigators better.
• We ate in the house of some... very well-off members, and their son wanted VERY BADLY to show us his toys. He would fit perfectly in Comic-Con, to put it shortly.

I’m gonna cut it short for now because time’s a little thin! I love you all and hope that, with the start of the semester, you’re all working hard and doing your homework. Whether it’s that, your career, or your family, remember to ALWAYS keep a positive attitude!!! The Lord blesses those who refrain from murmuring!!

Love,

Elder Carson

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(Next time, I’ll show you the photo of that kid’s insane Kylo Ren lightsaber... :DDD)

Week 37 AND 38 in the field!!!

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! 

And by that I mean, we didn’t get ANYTHING of the hurricane! I was all ready to see some lightning and thunder and wind and stuff, but all that came was LIGHT RAIN! 

Oh well. I didn’t come here to be in an action movie. ;D 

LECCIÒN DE LA(S) SEMANA(S): Fill your life with the word of God!!! The assistants came to live with us for about four days this past week, and with five people in the house (as you can imagine) it was somewhat easy to get distracted talking and telling stories. I soon found that we were losing too much time, and I felt bad about it, so I made a commitment with God to fill the little gaps of time reading the Book of Mormon. WHAT A DIFFERENCE I SAW! I was more prepared in our lessons, I set baptismal dates, got references, and (quite possibly) made a really good impression on our leaders!

I can bear my personal testimony that the impact of a consistent study of the Book of Mormon goes far beyond the letters on the page. It provides us with knowledge, teaches us wisdom, and fills us with the light of Christ. 

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• I got new companions! Elder Mun is on the downhill (he leaves in October) but he continues being a great example of hard work and dedication. He’s from Oaxaca, Mexico. Elder Tello (that’s right, we’re in a trio), is from Argentina, and is a great teacher of the Gospel. He’s got a way of accomplishing everything he says he will, and I admire him for it. 
• The Leadership Council was postponed two days (for the storm that never came), so we had to cancel a bunch of appointments to make way for the travel. the good part is that Elder Tello was able to stay behind with other missionaries and cover the majority of the appointments. 
• Elder CarLson went home with honor! And he left me a tie in the offices, which was cool. 
• We had a lunch appointment with our bishop, in which I learned that he’s a network programmer with experience in Space Agency systems!!! Anyone who knows me could guess that (after fanboy-ing a little) I took notes of his information so that later on we can talk space. :D 
• I did another baptismal interview for an investigator of some sister missionaries in our zone! It was my second time. She was super prepared, so there were no complications. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to attend the service, but I felt happy for their success anyway!
• We set a baptismal date with Juan, the brother of one of our former investigators. Previously, he hadn’t wanted to listen to us, but he went to his aunt’s house on Sunday, all dressed up, and told her, "I want to go to church. Will you bring me??" Turns out he’s a great (and smart) kid. He understood everything from our first lesson without problems!
• I TURNED 10 MONTHS OLD IN THE MISSION :D 

Well, that’s all for now. Over these last two weeks, there were plenty of things to talk about, but y’all know the drill - give me 14 months and we’ll have a nice conversation around the fire with a cup o’ chocolate. 

I invite all of you to participate with me in reading the Book of Mormon in your spare moments. Carry it around in your backpack. Have the strength of the Lord with you always. I promise you that you’ll find a greater and more meaningful happiness in your life. 

Love, 

Elder Carson

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His name is Esau. He`s a champ.

I was gonna take a picture of our Burger King splurge, but I ate everything too fast... O.o

A thoughtful gift from the former assistent (and name-twin).

Saying goodbye to my bruddah from a different muddah!! He`s off to Cozumel to enjoy the beach ;D

Yuri got baptized!! :D Elder Mun is the one who looks Korean, E. Tello is the other.

Our buddy Jahir. He just needs to get married, yo.

It`s a grape-like fruit with a shell that looks weird.

Week 36 in the field!!!

Happy Saturday everybody!!!

Yeah, yeah, I forgot to remind y’all about the special PDay again. But it’s okay - the time’s passing so quickly that I don’t even notice it anymore. It’ll be next Monday in about half an hour.

LECCIÒN DE LA SEMANA: It’s always better to love than to judge. We had our interviews with President this week in the church building, and as Zone Leaders, E. Sanchez and I directed the proceedings.

One missionary, who has been causing problems in the zone, returned to the chapel after his interview in tears. I knew in that moment that he was being sent home. There were many thoughts that came to mind - what did he do? - but I felt the need to be a friend instead of a shamer, so I went to sit by him in the back pew and talk things over.

For a moment, I felt like my eyes were opened, and I saw the Elder from a different perspective. No longer was he a "headache to deal with" or a "danger to our success" - he was just a kid feeling like a failure. One of God’s own children who had just received a tough wake-up call.

We talked, and I felt like we ended up as friends. He thanked me for helping him out, and I made him promise to be more active in the church than he was before. He promised.

When people have tough times with failure, we, as their friends, have a great opportunity to love and teach. If we waste that opportunity spreading rumors or simply letting bad thoughts stew inside of you, we’ll miss out on lots of sweet moments.

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• President told me about EVERYBODY’s transfers in my interview. It was interesting to get to know his thought-process behind it all. He told me that E. Sanchez will be leaving and that I’ll be receiving E. Mun, my Korean-looking zone-leader from Palmas! :D He challenged me to learn as much as possible from the guy (becuase he’s a super-elder) and that he expects lots of success from our zone.

• There was an EFY program in our stake this week, and the ward secretaries were all asking us for 50 Restoration pamphlets each. LIKE WHAT? It was a fun Tuesday - we had to run around searching for materials in every corner of the zone. I consider it a good investment - the young-uns are going to be sharing the materials with their non-member friends to generate referrals as part of the week-long camp.

• READ "BUILDING BLOCKS OF CREATION" by Elder Skausen! Read it!

• The president of the Relief Society gifted me the ingredients to make a lime-cookie-cake! That was a fun little project. Delicious, if you haven’t tried lime-cookie-cake.

• We had a grand shopping spree on Wednesday to get the food for our Zone Conference! We had planned to buy 72 DELICIOUS tamales (thereby funding the business of a sister in our ward) but she had to cancel because she couldn’t find the banana-leaves to wrap them. So: HAM AND CHEESE, YO!

• The Zone Conference was great! E. Sanchez and I had the assigned topic of "Just Get Them Excited About Baptizing", so we whipped out our scriptures and testified!! I shared a story that got Hna. Reynoso to tears (which I secretly take pride for), and the Sister Trainers repremanded everyone for being disobedient. Overall, I think President got a great impression. He was laughing about it in the car-ride home.

Thanks for tuning in, everybody! There should be lots of great stories next time! Be sure to check out the pics below from our trip to the zoo, hit that "like" button and be sure to subscribble! Oh, and the most important part - LOVE, DON’T JUDGE.

With love (not judgment),

Elder Carson

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Ferocious

"who dat white guy?"

"Do you have time for a message about Jesus - " 

"RAAAAAAAWWWWWRR!" 

"... okay, have a nice day!"

"Maybe if I keep REAALLY still, the Mormons won`t see me..."

*drunk guy in the street* "heeeeey, come teach me, man!!"

Santa Clause delivering 56 ham and cheese sandwiches.

Lime-cookie-pie